Gospel Spice | Awaken Delight in God through faith in Jesus Christ Digital detox for kids | with Molly DeFrank
Episode 147 - Are you concerned your children might be addicted to digital media? How can you know proper boundaries, and how can you weather a total digital detox without losing your mind in the process? How can you restore your children to the fullness of childhood--games and puzzles and twigs and fireflies and hide-and-seek--without losing sanity in the process? Molly DeFrank joins Stephanie for this special Mother's Day episode to talk about just that. And it's for dads, and grandparents, and aunts and uncles too!
Molly is currently a stay-at-home mom of six beautiful little ones, aged 2 to 11. She has experienced the stress and fatigue and mood swings and temper tantrums that inevitably accompanied the words "screen time is up!" And she has crafted, through personal experience and through coaching many families, the solution that every modern parent has been desperately wishign for: the complete guide to digital detox in two weeks. It's not easy, she says, but it is simple. And efficient. It will reclaim your family life, and will poise you to become a steward of the beautiful children the Lord has entrusted into your care.
Molly says, "As if parenthood didn’t bring enough stress on its own, moms and dads in 2022 are drowning in digital distractions up to our eyeballs. And if we don’t take a moment to clarify the role we want tech to play in our homes, it will continue to seep in and monopolize. It will steal the moments, days and years meant for connecting with, training and forming our kids’ hearts and worldviews. The quiet lulls, connective meals, and mellow drive times that filled our own childhoods are long gone. They’ve been displaced by digital entertainment. Parents are having fewer conversations with their kids, whose beautiful saucer-eyes now staring at tablets instead of their loving caregiver."
She says, "I know because I shrugged off the nudges for years before I finally said “no more.” And as soon as we detoxed our own kids, everything changed. Since then, I’ve coached several families through their own digital detox journeys. Every single one witnessed transformation. Every single family’s results exceeded their expectations."
With her trademark sense of humor, this California mom adds, "A LOT of people call me mom. I spaced my kids so close together that the hospital’s labor and delivery department gave me a punch card for a free sandwich. Then we also added several darlings via foster care—some for a day, some forever. We’ve parented lots of kids from all backgrounds. We’ve navigated kids through therapy, broken limbs, recovering from abuse. We’ve housed kids between juvenile hall stays. We’ve overseen autism therapy and high-honors students...."
So, join Molly and Stephanie this week on the show--we promise you will leave with fresh hope and a renewed sense that you can take charge of your children's screen time with simplicity.
"In early parenthood, I was certain about many things. Like how I would never homeschool, listen to Kids Bop, or drive a minivan. A decade-plus later, I have blasted Kids Bop while driving my children to the homeschool coop—in my minivan.
God lovingly used motherhood to show me the end of my rope, and how deeply I need strength outside of myself. Parenting is life’s best lesson in humility. And for especially thick heads like mine, God gives you many children in quick succession, then a few bonus kids for good measure.
I enjoy black coffee strong enough to power a small jet, reading instead of cleaning, time spent across a table with friends, and eating any food that’s prepared impeccably. I’m also a recovering vegetarian. Send help, send tofu, drop me a line here on Facebook or Instagram. "
Facebook: Molly DeFrank
Instagram: @mollydefrank
Book: Digital Detox: The Two-Week Tech Reset for Kids
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